British Grand Prix

[kompressaur]

the usual 3 as favourites. Is this still a sport thats 'competative' enough to have a bet? I don't follow F1 neve have. I did like a f1 game for the playstation mind. Hungary was my favourite track. Used to play it head to head v my brother in about 1998 with 2 tv's.

best prices

Raikkonen 2.50 Sportingbet
Hamilton 3.8 Extrabet
massa 4.3 Betfair

4th fav is Kubica whos as high as 17.00 with Sportingbet and as low as 9.00 with Skybet

anyone fancy any of it?

[kompressaur]

Nice preview on Tip-ex for this race-

British GP – Preview.
Will Ferrari Rain on Lewis’ Parade?
Or will it just rain? Once again it is the weather forecast which makes having a bet at this stage a bigger risk than normal. This is the fourth race in a row were wet weather has been forecast and being in the middle of the English summer, that threat is more real than most. As the weekend comes closer the forecasters are in general agreement that the weather is going to take a turn for the worse and rain can be expected from Saturday morning onwards.

There are some doubts about qualifying, with rain being forecast from early morning until about mid morning, but then a possible break until it returns in mid afternoon. In other words the actual qualifying session could well fall into a dry window. However the race looks very likely to be rain affected and the decision now is whether to play safe and wait until things are more definite, or take a chance on the longer term forecast. Having been watching the weather maps all week I am confident enough to go with the wet forecast and bet accordingly.

In a dry race I would have been backing Raikkonen for this race and indeed he could win with ease even it is a wet race, but rain can and usually does, throw a spanner or two in the works and the result can be unusual results and great entertainment. Backing a 6/4 shot in wet conditions is certainly not my idea of sanity, but if it were dry than Raikkonen would be good value. Hopefully the forecasters are correct and we will see plenty of the wet stuff over the weekend.

5 points Webber to win midfield group @ 5/2 with Ladbrokes.
This seems a remarkable price for a driver that has won this market in six of the eight races to date. The only two races were he did not win were the rather bizarre Australian and Canadian GP’s. Webber is a near permanent fixture in the top 10 in qualifying and is proven in both wet or dry conditions. The others in the group, Rosberg, Coulthard, Glock and Piquet, are likely to start behind Webber on the grid and likely to need some good fortune to beat him.

2 points e/w Webber to be best of the rest @ 7/1 with Ladbrokes.
A tougher market as it includes real threats like Alonso and Trulli, along with possible dark horses like Vettel and Button, but the fact is that he has been placed three times and won this market twice from the first eight races.

0.5 point e/w Webber to win British GP @ 150/1 with Paddy Power.
He has the abaility to do it in a wet race and is long overdue a lucky break.

2 points Jenson Button to finish in the points @ 9/2 with Extrabet.
0.5 point Jenson Button to finish on the podium @ 100/1 with Extrabet
In my opinion Button remains the finest wet weather driver in F1 right now but he has failed to make the most of that talent on a few occasions by trying too hard too soon. Last year in Japan he knew he had a great chance and tried an overly ambitious over on Heidfeld for 4th place at a re-start only to collide with him and that was that. Likewise at Monaco a few weeks ago he was trying to make up a lot places on the opening lap before collecting Rosberg in the process. He knows that a wet race is his best (and only) realistic chance to score big points this season but he just needs to be a little more realistic and patient. A wet qualifying would certainly help his prospects.

2 points Sebastian Vettel to finish in the points @ 5/1 with BlueSq
0.5 point Vettel to finish on the podium @ 60/1 with BlueSq.
Vettel is emerging as a great young talent and has driven very well in the wet in both Japan and China in ’07 and Monaco this season when he brought the car home in 5th. That was especially impressive as it was the first time he had raced the new Red Bull never mind driven it in the wet.

1 point Adrian Sutil to finish in the points @ 20/1 with Skybet.
No one could begrudge Sutil some points after his fantastic effort in the rain at Monaco. He was heading for a remarkable 4th place finish before he was punted off by a very unimpressive Kimi Raikkonen. The Force India car will feature some major upgrades this weekend but clearly he needs some rain and some luck. At least he should the first one and the former Jordan team know how to make the most of a wet race as they have nothing to lose by gambling everything on a wet weather set up and hope that it pisses down.


I have a few qualifying bets pencilled in, but I will hold fire for a further 24 hours to see how the weather for Saturday looks like panning out. Please check back to this page on Thursday afternoon.

Tip-Ex -- Sports betting odds comparison of online bookmakers for odds movements, asian handicaps, running ball, xml odds and livescore feeds.

[kompressaur]

Back Lewis Hamilton to win, or get a podium finish in the British Grand Prix and if he ends up outside the points in the race, we will refund your stake as a free bet for the German Grand Prix.

from Skybet

[kompressaur]

bloody hell Skybet are doing a 50 pound free bet now

Our free bet has increased - it is now matched UP TO £50.

3 easy steps to claim your free bet

1. Join now, it only takes a few minutes
2. Place a single or each way sports bet
3. Your free bet will be available in the bet slip for your next bet

[kompressaur]

British Grand Prix Betting: Patriotic punts on hold until cars are on the circuit
But whatever pressure Lewis Hamilton is feeling will fall away should he be standing on top of the podium at around 2:45 on Sunday.

As part of BBC Radio 5-live's build up to the British Grand Prix I've notched up a couple of firsts this week. For one; I'd never set foot in a Ferrari before and two; I'd never been a passenger on a flying lap of the 3.2-mile circuit either.

The idea was that I'd interview Damon Hill as he drove a few laps of the track in an F430, in idea that I have to say was bloody brilliant. Despite a few stomach-churning moments as the last British man to win the F1 title threw the car through Becketts and drifted almost off the tarmac on the exit of club, it was an awesome experience. Only when you drive or ride round Silverstone do you appreciate its demands, the brakes for instance are first applied halfway round, until Stowe corner it's flat out whatever you're driving. Only when you're there in the flesh do you understand why the drivers love it and what punishment they and their cars suffer.

It's a track for the brave, the fearless, the thrill seeker. An adventure for the fast and furious and a place that deserves a future in F1, not a constant threat to its place on the calendar.

This weekend Silverstone will be a sell-out on all three days and I daresay that most of the 240,000 fans will be routing for the one British driver that has a realistic chance of victory. Whatever pressure Lewis Hamilton is feeling at the moment, and he's feeling a fair amount, it will all fall off his shoulders at 2.45pm on Sunday should he be the man standing on top of the podium. The question is though, is that a realistic expectation?

Last year it wasn't, despite that storming drive to take pole. Come the race Kimi Raikkonen was lapping almost half a second quicker than his rivals, such was the superior advantage the Ferrari's enjoyed. It would have been a one-two for the Italian team had Massa not started from the back of the grid, in many ways his fifth placed finish was the drive of the race.

This year the Ferrari's will be there again, the car goes well at tracks with high speed corners, but the test last week suggested that it will be a much more closely fought contest. That's why you can back Lewis to win with Betfair at 3.75 and Kimi at Raikkonen at 2.6. The Finn deserves favourite status with history suggesting that this is a track that suits him down to the ground. Sunday will be his 8th British Grand Prix and so far he's notched up 1 win, 1 second place, three third place finishes, three spots on the front row, including pole in 2004.

However, those punters who ignore his team-mate do so at their peril. Felipe Massa is a highly tempting 4.2, he leads the championship and is driving with more maturity than we've seen in previous seasons. For value alone he gets my nod this weekend.

Massa also represents decent value in the qualifying market. Given that he's beaten Raikkonen in qualifying on five occasions out of eight his price of 3.95 as opposed to Kimi's 3.5 is worth a look. Lewis Hamilton is trading at 3.55 but until we get to see the cars on the circuit on Friday I'd put any patriotic punts on hold. Last year Lewis went light in qualifying to grab that pole but it ruined his race, Mclaren may not be so keen to adopt that policy again.

One bet I might be tempted to have now rather than later is for the number of finishers to be under 13.5. Backers can get a best price of 2.4. Last year in the dry there were only six retirements out of 22, however a quick glance at the weather forecast tells me that there is a 60% chance of rain on race day which if it comes during the race will cause plenty of problems. Standing water and no traction control well lead to spins and crashes, which in the circumstances make that price very attractive.

Betfair | British Grand Prix Betting: Patriotic punts on hold until cars are on the circuit

Back Page Betting: Romantic Coulthard could be fun in the rain
But Lewis Hamilton can handle the pressure and drive himself to personal ambitions.

Andy Murray has gone and the search for a home hero switches to Lewis Hamilton. If Murray still doesn't have enough muscles to win Wimbledon then maybe Lewis can sizzle round Silverstone.

And he's certainly talking a good game as the Grand Prix circus began pitching its tent at the historic Northamptonshire track yesterday. Hamilton was insisting he's raring to go and ready to put the mistakes of Canada and France behind him. And he's told the Daily Star about his ambitions.

"People talk about winning the big four of Silverstone, Monaco, Monza and Spa but it's more straightforward for me," he says. "I want to win the first race of the season; I want to win Monte Carlo, both of which I did for the first time this year, and I want to win my home grand prix. Those are my goals and I'm ready for the challenge at Silverstone. We just need to get a really strong points finish. If we can beat the Ferraris and win on home turf it will be such a blow to everyone else."

If he's right then it's the perfect time to back him with odds of 5.2 for the drivers championship this season as he goes in to the race ten points behind Felipe Massa. He's also starting the race as 3.75 second favourite rather than in pole position in the betting as you might expect given home sentiment. Kimi Raikkonen is leading the way at 2.56.

But a word of warning about having a purely patriotic punt comes from another Brit, David Coulthard, who has been around the block a few times. He's interviewed at length in all the other tabloids, and most of them concentrate on his own thoughts on retirement and whether this might be the last time the Red Bull driver appears at Silverstone.

The Daily Mirror's Byron Young, though, gets to the nub of Coulthard's thoughts on Hamilton's growing flirtation with celebrity lifestyle, and a warning that he's becoming too much like David Beckham. Hamilton has warmed up for this weekend by racing Scalextric cars for one sponsor, sailing round the Isle of Wight for another, and dashing to Holland for a third.

Coulthard says: "Lewis is a well-educated, extremely talented guy and a friend. He is in control of what will happen off the track. He has it in his hands to decide how his time is used when he is not driving a racing car. If he goes down a Beckham-style route of really getting into all that, he will end up being extremely busy at the race track and extremely busy away from it which will take a toll. Look at Kimi Raikkonen. He is very private about his off-track profile. He doesn't do a good deal. He has a good drink with his buddies, he's not off doing book signings or celebrity parties."

It's an important point and suggests that while Hamilton could be worth backing for this race given his normal ability to deliver under pressure - and especially with wet weather forecast - in the long term he'll still be a lay for the world title. Given that rain always turns a race into a bit of a lottery it could make it worth looking for a longshot. Coulthard would be a romantic story - and at 40.0 a podium finish and 340.0 to win the race could just be worth a couple of quid for fun.

Five things you didn't know about David Coulthard

1. Born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, his middle name is Marshall

2. He's put his earnings into property and hotels and owns the posh Columbus hotel in Monaco

3. He suffered from bulimia as a teenager

4. Every one of his 13 Formula One wins have come in cars designed by Adrian Newey - who has now followed him to work for Red Bull racing

5. The memorabilia from his 15-year career as a Grand Prix driver is all on show in a museum in Twynholm near Dumfries in Scotland

Betfair | Back Page Betting: Romantic Coulthard could be fun in the rain

[rockshark]

i have layd the flying finn, raikey hates the rain. will lay off though depends on qualifying.

[Frodo]

Miserable gits. Betfair have basically ripped off my theories of several weeks ago . Then they've gone a spoiled it by calling Button the finest wet weather driver in F1. IMO he's not top 6. Fine wet weather drivers do not crash or fall off the track when overtaking.

A word of warning is that rain has been predicted for the last two GP's and failed to materialise with anything beyond an odd spot. It wouldn't half be good though if it rained in Qualifying.

The best bet of that lot IMO is Vettel because it has a decent chance in the wet or the dry, but especially the wet.

I'll have a hunt around later.

[stonecold]

Think this will be a Ferrari win come rain or shine looking to strong.

Webber looks good for a strong points finish in any weather and Vettel if we get some rain, he is awsome in the wet.

[slick]

Ditto Stonecold, after the last 2 gp's can't see past a Ferrari win , the only fella who could possibly break the equilibrium is Hamilton but he seems to be continuing his form from the latter part of last yr where excuses are the order of the day rather than knuckling down and concentrating on the job, maybe its just me but he and his dad are starting to get on my tits with their whiter than white so to speak persona, the sooner they come back down to earth the better as he's won fcuk all yet and doesnt look likely to. Cnut thinks he's the Tiger Woods of the motoring world.

So its either of the Ferraris for me with a probable one-two.

[wazik]

As mentioned above Vettel is good in the rain. Another outsider depending on the price for points could be Sutil, remeber his Monaco effort he was on course for 4th till getting taken out by Kimi. Might have been a freak but its the smaller teams taking the big gambles when the weather plays up. I will be doing my usual and waiting until after qualifing but if I had to pick a winner it would be Kimi, track suits his card and he loves it round here.

[Frodo]

Agree with Sutil Wazik. I've taken him to beat Fisichella in Qualifying @ 2.8 with Stan James.

The head-to-head record shows 5-2 to Fisi although that included the first 4 races. The teams with less of a budget tend to have to limit testing and you can perhps put that down to Fisichella either getting more testing pre-season or having more experience on the non-european tracks.

Of the last 3 two have been very close with one win each and the other was Monaco where Sutil beat Fisi easily. Chuck in the potential for wet weather and for me this is 2.8 on a coin flip which I'll happily take.

[wazik]

I dont usually bet before qualifing but you have tempted me with that Frodo, looks like a fair price to me. Nice one.

[Frodo]

- Fisi was going to do him on his last run but obliged by falling off the track.

Bets I'm considering for the race

Vettel w/o Big 6 (BMW, Ferrari, McLaren) 10/1 - E/w - Lads
Vettel to beat Piquet, Trulli & Coulthard 15/8 - B365
Kubica Podium - 8/1
Vettel Podium - 20/1
Sutil Points - 12/1

All bets are dependant on wet weather. Kubica missed the last qualifying session yesterday but the 2nd session, which is the best gauge of speed, he was 4th fastest. Needs a bit of luck but after Monaco I trust his consistency in the wet.

[wazik]

I meant to post this earlier bit late now

A nice spot yesterday on that match bet on what was essentially a coin flip. Taken Sutil for a points finish in case of crazy wet race and Vettel without the top 6.